I’ve got a post on the FMC site about my recent travel mentioned in the last post but am adding a point of view on this blog too:

My October 2023 trip to work with Campagna Amica and World FMC was focused on U.S./Mediterranean team sharing around cash incentives and learning more about multi-functional ag. The global interest in cash incentives is obviously not aligned with the US SNAP model (as few have this sort of national program) but is about the other incentives we see at markets offered to certain segments of audiences to participate such as FMNP, Produce Prescription, children’s market clubs and others, as well as the matching programs of those coupons.

My FMC blog focuses on that subject so all that I’ll add here is that based on the dozens of recent conversations I’ve had within the US and now with leaders across the world, I believe it is beyond time for the US farmers market sector to reframe the purpose and goals of our farmers market incentive work.

The public health sector is a great partner especially around the SNAP & matching work with quite clear goals, but farm direct leaders must hold their own theory of change as to why THEY do these intensive programs. These might include increasing the number of recurring shoppers, assisting farmers to fairly earn enough and expand the type of regional products, improving health outcomes, reducing customer confusion and expanding education by having a single point of information at the market’s tent, using multiple incentives to expand civic engagement and local participation among partners and of course, building a sustainable program framework that doesn’t cripple low-capacity/high-efficiency farmers markets and direct to consumer farmers by matching its seasonality and type of messaging and measurement.

By doing that, farm direct outlets can be clear with Congress and with USDA about why some of the recent trends to prioritize farmer terminals over central terminals, or why restricting matches only to fruits and vegetables rather than allowing them to use their matches for any regionally produced item available at a well-curated farm direct outlet have not always been the appropriate model.

Always happy to talk more about these ideas both as a FMC staff member or as an independent consultant for markets. Contact me if that is helpful and check out the FMC blog post linked at the beginning of this post to find FMC resources.

Now on to multi-functional agriculture.

This is an approach that:

… “refers to the fact that agricultural activity, beyond its role of producing food and fibre, may also have several other functions such as renewable natural resources management, landscape and biodiversity conservation and contribution to the socio-economic viability of rural areas”….”the use of the concept can be traced back to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)”

So in theory, it requires us to think of agriculture as a system of healthy support of land and of people and not just as production. In practice, it suggest that we need to tie our farm direct efforts to those projects that prioritize biodiversity, justice, health, and rural places.

Italy has adopted this approach within their massive farmer association Coldiretti, and it was on display during the Villaggio. Farmers, agritourism leaders among others with their Coldiretti yellow flags and hats in the hundreds sat for hours in the tents while national political leaders lined up to explain how their approach will offer results. Urban leaders on panels indicated their deep knowledge of the territorial market sphere, underlining their commitment to the fact that their city’s future is tied to their region’s future. Their national farmers market entity Campagna Amica used the occasion to showcase their development of the World FMC to discuss how to connect the concentration of urban farmers markets to the rural places those markets depend on across the globe.

So it was exciting to see and to hear about this approach even while it is undeniable that the issue in the US is there are few viable connections any longer between rural and urban and as a result, massive misunderstandings of the other among the denizens of each. Even the 10,000 of so farmers market sites we can brag about often promote urban ag over multi functional ag, may inadvertently disincentivize rural activities among market vendors, and often fail to measure rural outcomes of their work or only measure market day sales.

U.S. farmers markets could start to operationalize this approach through connecting CSA, farm stands, and agritourism to their efforts – and not just as a part of the market day:

Asking producers if they have those type of activities and how they can be promoted through the farmers market;

Offering two-way benefits for urban shoppers and rural farmers such as those outlined in Kuni;

Highlighting the role of land stewardship as alleviating rapid overdevelopment in the region and how the worst effects of climate change benefit from natural spaces protecting developed ones;

Promoting healthy outdoor activity with farms as the destinations as Vermont does.

If farm direct is to thrive, it will require seeing it as a pathway to creating better places, to building more closely knit communities, and to adding locally controlled “wealth” for urban and rural, which of course should mean land or knowledge wealth as often as usually means financial wealth.

Check out this list as one set of policies that would help all citizens and all places:

The Ten Pillars of PDA and RUBI’s 21st Century Rural New Deal:

1. Rebuild Farm, Forest and Food Economies

2. Reward Work and Ensure Livable Wages

3. Dismantle Monopolies, Empower and Support Local Business

4. Invest in Community and Regional Infrastructure

5. Re-Build Small Town Centers

6. Cultivate Self-Reliance and Resilience

7. Invest in Rural Healthcare

8. Fully Fund Rural Schools

9. Make Rural and Small Town Housing Affordable

10. Re-Localize Rural and Small Town Banks

I’m excited about sharing this international language and approach for farmers markets as IT will build capacity for their organizations while it draws their producer partners closer to them in a shared future.